My letter from Lil' Miss Thang :: OM [one moment] meetup

This week, I received an incredibly sweet letter from my little neighbor in Rhode Island. When we moved into our home there, she was just a baby. We spent 7 years as neighbors and I watched her grow into a lovely young girl of almost 8. It was hard saying goodbye.

Lil' Miss Thang,' as I've been known to call her affectionately, wrote that she missed me. I cannot tell you how much that makes my heart smile.  I miss her, too. We shared a lot in common.  She and I were surrounded by boys: her 2 older brothers, my 2 sons. We would laugh at the boys and talk art. I would make her accessories that she would proudly wear. I appreciated seeing her smile and wave every morning as we all started our days heading in different directions.

She included a drawing of me in the letter. It's hanging on my inspiration board in my studio.I had planned to write a friend for this month's Project Letter Writing. Now I look forward to adding Lil' Miss Thang to my list. I'll include photos and maybe an easy origami project.

There is nothing like getting a letter from a child. They are filled with so much joy, sincerity, and innocence.  Project Letter Writing and my OM [one moment] serendipitously collided this week. January could not have started off better.  Thanks, Lil' Miss Thang!
What was your moment this week?

OM [one moment] meet up - week #7 - rewards for giving a moment

47/365-Old Hands, originally uploaded by A.I.Boniface.

I stopped by to see my neighbor this week. She is in her mid to late 80s and we like to keep an eye out for her. She was a nurse for many years, raised 4 kids, and was married to conservationist for 60 years. [He used to study the migration patterns of the turtles in our local pond.] She has a quick wit, open mind,  and wonderful perspective on life. I can only hope to be as "in touch" with the world in my 80s.

Mrs. R invited me into her home and we chatted for about 15 minutes. When I asked how she was doing, she told me she had just been feeling sorry for herself.  She missed her husband.

I was glad I stopped by.

She began talking about the oil spill in the Gulf and how angry she was about this incident "that should have never happened." She said her husband would have been heart broken. I had never seen her in this light.

She began to reminisce about all of the advances she has seen in her lifetime: antibiotics, city wide infrastructure, land development. She said that to some degree, the advances have developed more problems for us.

I agreed.

I was so glad to have stopped by Mrs. R's house. It gave me a chance to see life through her eyes. It gave her a chance to talk to someone about her feelings.  I found that this 'one moment' resonated in my mind throughout the day and week.

I need to stop by to see her more often.

What was your 'one moment' this week? What took you out of your present moment and made you wonder, smile, remember?

Share in the blog comments here, on your own blog (and link back below) or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter, I've started a hash tag - #OMmeetup so that we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!

To learn more about this weekly post, OM [one moment] meetup, please see the original post here.